Blacklist
by giftapfel
Summary: Kei Ueshima is a full-fledged city girl who doesn't believe in supernatural or any hocus-pocus junk. But when a friend awakes from a lengthy coma, she learns that everything isn't exactly as it seems.
1. Chapter 1

**I wanted to do a OC x Akura-ou fic but I come to find girls like Kei cool, minus her not too appealing habits and I thought "hey why not put these two together and see how much havoc will these two cause?". I do not ship these two but it'll will be fun to see how they go…**

 **I'm a firm believer of opposite attracts so most of my stories lean towards that route, this one may as well be.**

 **This story may or may not be AU. And since this is a fic, I won't be too spot-on on most part and characters.**

 **It would be nice if I receive feedbacks from you guys, just so I know I'm not wasting anyone time with this.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Edited on 25.01.2017**

Chapter 1: Maroon

A strawberry blond female leans against the railing of her balcony with a toast in hand, munching the buttery goodness and revelling in the tartly taste of jam as she watches the new dawn blending through the streets of Tokyo. Brilliant orange and yellow light burns like fire as it melds with the dark blues, slowly unravelling new colours.

Her parents are away on a trip, enjoying their small given break and leaving their 19-years-old daughter on her own at their small but humble home. It is every teenager's dream to be left alone without the supervision of a parent, and Kei Ueshima isn't an exception to that, though she doesn't have the time to enjoy it.

Brushing the crumbs off her hands, she gives a quick glance at her wristwatch before hurrying around to gather her necessities for school. Despite being a rather new high-school graduate herself, she responsibly makes sure that every appliance is switched off, every window is locked before exiting the apartment and locking the door.

Kei heads out to school with head held high, beaming in giddiness as she bumps into her hot neighbour, who just happens to be a schoolmate. They chat normally along the way, basked in the warm sunlight and soft summer breeze. After bidding goodbye to the boy, Kei steps into her first class. The sight of her best friend, Ami Nekota in all her curly redness and smiles, brightens Kei's day even more as the shorter girl approaches Kei with a little too much spring in her step.

Seriously, everything is going unremarkable well so why…why…

Why can't Kei shake off the shivery feeling from the back of her mind?

It is expected of someone like her to think twice over such petty things. If a stranger on street would offer her a bar of gold, she would kick him where the sun doesn't shine and lock the doors and windows of her house shut, huddling in the corner with a knife in hand. In other words: she tends to have a pessimistic outlook on life.

"Kei-chan, do you have any plan after school?" inquires Ami, leaning closer to the strawberry blonde, who is a bit too occupied with her phone.

"Hmm…besides my part-time job, I have nothing else to do. Why?"

Ami let out a miserable groan. "Well, it's been a while since we shop…"

Kei sighs, nimble fingers typing away to answer the annoying texts, which are mostly from her lines of admirers. Before she can do anything to comfort the sulking redhead, a classmate barges into the classroom, breathing heavily after a long sprint from the secretary.

"Did you guys hear the news?" the blond-haired youth yells in a joyful manner, successfully grabbing everyone's attention in the room. "There's a new kid admitting, and they say it's Kurama!"

A beep of silence falls upon the student body before an uproar of shrieks, both girlish and aggravate (from the male) erupts, making Kei cover her ears in attempt to protect her eardrums. It doesn't help that Ami is squealing and shaking her arm in excitement.

Kei isn't exactly a fan but she has enough common sense to know that Kurama is by far the hottest teen idol of their generation. Not that Kei has any interest but as her best friend is in fact one of his devoted fans, Kei can't help but be forced to know about these inconvenient matters.

"Isobe! You better not be joking about this!"

"Oh my gosh, this is our chance to talk to him!"

"Which department do you think he'll be in?"

"Forget that, I have no regrets now! I can die in peace now"

Kei is most likely the most level-headed of the female population as she now strains hard to get out of the stampede of excited females, knowing full-well Ami can fend for herself inside the sea of fans; Kei has witnessed herself how unexpected violent the girl can be if it involves her beloved singer. It isn't that Kei isn't like other girls, she is in fact, but she doesn't see the point of fantasizing over a boy that wouldn't even realize your existence.

A few minutes later, the instructor arrives to the scene involving a wild range of Kurama fans from other classes and scared, trembling bystanders that happen to get caught in the crazy frenzy.

"What in the world…" begins the aged man.

"Oh, this is nothing." speaks Kei from the side, still typing feverishly on the screen of her phone. "We should see how it goes when the new kid arrives."

The teacher stares at her.

"Ueshima-san, meet me after class. I need to talk to you about the assignment you sent me."

Kei blinks. "…I knew this morning is too good to be true."

* * *

"Seriously how am I supposed to know that we should hand the handouts today? If they are so bossy about it, then why don't they do it themselves?"

Kei hums distractedly, partially listening to Ryou's rants, one ear occupied by a blaring earphone while the other is left alone in a faked manner of politely listening to the male.

Ryou is secretly an admirer of hers although he stubbornly denies it. Nice guy. Smart. Desirable by most girls in their department. He can be dreamy if he isn't so possesive protective of her. They are friends but due to Kei's subtle popularity with boys, he won't leave her alone, hence the walk to her workplace. Once upon a time she would date Ryou but after years of having him looming over her, snarling at any sign of attraction from other opposite gender, the mood kinda dies. Not to mention she is growing rather irritated of his presence.

Dunking away from the boy's vain attempt to give her a so-called friendly hug, she crosses the road and hurries into a pristine okonomiyaki restaurant across the street, effectively leaving Ryou in the lurch. In her rush, however, she accidently sprains her ankle. Pain shoots up her leg, causing her to almost crash into an exiting customer.

In contrast to her clean and confident appearance in the morning, Kei arrives to the workplace with an injured ankle and a scowl etched on her fair features. Her co-workers inwardly cringe at her poor state. Kayako Hiragi, a pretty brunette girl with a serious case of superiority is the only one dares to approach her, eyebrows knitting in interest as she places a palm on Kei's back. "I expect that Ryou-kun hasn't got the message."

"And he never will in a hundred years," groans Kei, rubbing and pressing her throbbing ankle to force the pain down. "Sorry, Hiragi-san but I will pretty much be working in the kitchen today."

"It's fine, it's fine," says Kayako dismissively. "We actually can have you do something else."

"What do you mean by something else…" muses Kei, feeling suspicious at the vagueness.

A few moments later, the 19-year-old finds herself being forced to deliver lunches to her boss.

Kei feels much worse now that she stands in front of the reception desk at the general hospital, feeling quite out of place with her school uniform as everyone bustles about around her. As she waits for the woman behind the desk to direct her to the room, her hands clench tightly around the cloth that holds the boxed lunch.

"It's on the third floor, Room 104," says the sweet-looking nurse, gesturing a hand at the elevators to their side. "You can use the elevator."

Quietly thanking the woman, she heads inside the lift and waits for the inevitable meeting as the elevator moves up. Her eyes stay blank despite the growing anxiety in her chest.

"Excuse me," Kei calls, her fists knocking weakly against the door before turning the door knob, hoping with her luck that her manager isn't there. No such luck on her side as she opens the door to see the aged woman in the bleach tinctured ward.

Mrs. Mori is indeed a pretty woman. Despite the signs of age and weariness in her features, the warm light still shines in her violet eyes, emitting hope and pure kindness. Just a smile from the old woman causes Kei's stomach to twist into knots of guilt and sadness. Kei gulps and limps hesitantly towards the woman, holding at arm's length the lunch box, all the while murmuring sincere apologies for not visiting from the beginning, although her kind-hearted boss does assure her that nothing can be done since she is a recently graduate, so it's only naturally that her schedule is packed.

Instead the middle-aged woman begins to fuss over Kei when she realizes the slight limp in the girl's pace. Kei simply disregards her concern, patting her thigh in a nonchalant way to the worried woman. Mrs. Mori heaves a sigh, features relaxing in a calm expression. "Well, all it matters is that you're here, and Kirihito would be happy to know that."

Kei takes great care to not radiate pure depression in front of the matriarch of the Mori family. The woman has a lot in her plate—the last thing she needs is a sentimental teenager.

Kei tilts her head slightly to get a look of the slumbering figure on the bed, which is partly concealed by the curtain that is hanging overhead. At Mrs. Mori's invitation, she plants herself on the chair besides the patient, posture tense now that the dying boy is beside her.

Kirihito is always too pale for her liking but at the moment he looks almost akin to a conserving corpse. Besides his black locks, his pallid complexion almost blends with the endless amount of bandages that covers his form.

 _Hey, Kei-chan, right? I'm Kirihito._

Her eyes squeeze shut at the memory. Her hand slowly and reluctantly reaches for the boy's hand. She is so immersed in her thoughts that she doesn't notice Mrs. Mori silent retreat from the room, rendering the room quiet save for the beeping noise of the monitor.

"Mori-san, this is Kei Ueshima. Can you hear me?" she has no confidence that he can hear her. In spite of that she attempts an insincere laugh.

The sound of the monitor isn't enough to distract her as she watches the boy, who no doubt would be in different shades of pain behind the calm, passionless face.

 _You look so focused on doing this, Kei-chan._

In all her regret, Kei extends another arm, while the other keeps hold to his cool palm, giving it a gentle squeeze in hope to transfer some of her body heat to the cold skin. She hesitates for a moment before raking her fingers through his hair, smoothing them a bit to the side like a settling dust clouds.

 _Kei-chan, instead of playing with your phone, you should talk more._

It's weird, she realizes. She isn't a close friend of his. In spite of his rather intimate relation with the owner, there isn't the slightest intention from her side to acquaint herself with the boy. It's amazing how one twist of fate can cause so much remorse for the 19-years-old, when it seems only yesterday that she neglects and takes everyone's kindness for granted.

 _I wish…_

 _I wish…_

Her body moves on its own, rising from the seat, leaning down and lightly brushing her lips against his forehead. She stays still for a while, breathing in the boy's scent; he smells of comfort and pine needles.

"I'm sorry for not being a better friend, Kirihito."

When she let him go, she wonders whether the slight squeeze she felt in Kirihito's fingers is a figment of her imagination.

* * *

The sound of rusty hinges squeaking shatters the lonely atmosphere of the Ueshima's apartment as the door opens, letting a beam of fluorescent light enters the dark living room. Struggled a bit with the groceries, Kei huffs exaggeratedly with relief as she unceremoniously dumps them on the couch. After making sure that the door is locked tight and nice, she proceeds to the bathroom, all too familiar with the coating of sweat and grime on her skin. A bubble bath is in order.

Kei gingerly hops into the thick foam of powder and soap, sighing and relaxing her tired form. Now submerged to her neck, she leans back. Her eyes appear to be almost grey as she stares mutely at the ceiling. Despite being content with the absence of her parents, she feels rather lonely with only the dripping sounds of a loose pipe and the ticking of the clock as her company.

 _Does Kirihito feel this way as he waits for the rescue team?_

Kei lifts her right hand, turning and scrutinizing the fair skin as the scented foam clings to her skin. She still could feel the tingle from Kirihito's hand. He is so cold. Is it from the effects of being buried in the snow avalanche?

Luckily he wasn't exactly alone at that time, as his friend survived the accident and immediately notified for help. The fact Kirihito had a transceiver with him really saved his life as they did find him after a while, though unconscious and very blue. He has since then lapsed into a coma. The doctors has claimed that his chance of survival is indeed slim, but everyone, including her could only do nothing but hope for the best as they wait for his awake.

Kei won't realize that she has fallen asleep in the bathtub if it isn't for her ringing phone. She swears lightly for being so frivolous; it wouldn't be so surprising if she drowns herself amidst the short nap. Rubbing her face, she raises out of the water and clumsily dons her robe. She finds her phone under the pile of laundry where she disposed her clothes and sees that there's a call from Ami.

"Hey, Ami. Thanks for saving me from drowning." she answers as nonchalant as one would comment about the weather. Judging by the wrinkles on her hand, she figures that she has bathed long enough.

"Kei-chan, it's dangerous to sleep during bath!" cries the girl on the other end that Kei could almost imagine the girl sitting up abruptly from her laying position.

Kei shakes her head in slight amusement, draining her tub and walking over to the vanity. "It's not like I meant to do it. I just slept while thinking," she contemplates on whether she should eat something before brushing her teeth. Feeling a bit hungry, she decides to brush later.

Puffs of steams halo her moving figure as she retreats to her bedroom, getting dress while talking to Ami at the same time. Seeing as she is too lazy, she simply resorts for a black tank top and slacks, not really caring whether she looks presentable enough or not. Who cares when one lives alone? She can sleep bare-naked for all she care.

"Ami, you can stop screaming now. I can hear you, you know…" Kei maneuvers around the kitchen with the phone wedged between her ears and shoulder, listening to how Ami describes her bizarre encounter with strange classmates outside of school. By the time Ami has finished with her yak, Kei is already done with her small supper.

"The girl is really nice but to be honest she's kind of weird…And her boyfriend is so scary! He has the most sharpest eyes Kei-chan will see!"

"Wait, this girl and this guy…" muses Kei to the phone which she has set on a speaker while her hands are busy with washing dirty plates. "You don't mean Nanami Momozono, right? The poor girl with brown hair?"

"Is that her name?" asks Ami surprisedly; Kei could almost imagine the redhead scratching her head in puzzlement. "Well, next time I'll be inviting her for our shopping spree! That is if her boyfriend stops hogging her all the time!"

Kei chuckles in a barely contained amusement. Compared to her reserved yet stubborn nature, Ami is more gentle and friendly; she is the yin to Kei's yang. At the beginning of their friendship, Kei deemed this annoying but eventually grew fond of the vibrant girl.

"Oh, enough about me!" demands Ami in a lightly chiding tone. "Did anything interesting happen to you today?"

Kei falters and thinks of the course of events that happened earlier today. Kirihito's pasty face still etches deep within her conscious. For unknown reasons, she can't find it in herself to confide her shame to her best friend.

"Oh, nothing worth mentioning," concludes Kei.

After a little cleaning in the kitchen, Kei sets off to bedroom, containing her unladylike yawns along the way. She climbs into bed eagerly but doesn't forget to leave her nightlight on, more out of caution than being afraid of the dark. As her eyelids flutter close in mere surrender to exhaustion, she manages to express gratitude and prayers to the lords. It isn't like she is the religious kind who prays every hour of the day but it has been a cult tradition of hers to do every night.

Not long after, she is snatched away by a dream.

In this dream Kei awakes to the soft rustle of leaves whispering in her ears. She finds herself standing on an empty road; aside from the endless path of dirt, nothing but grass covers everywhere she turns. She starts walking forward, not wondering or hesitating for a second as she goes along the route.

Something suddenly pinches the skin of her arm, pulling her to an abrupt stop and causing her foot to slip off and tumble out of the dirt road. As she now accidently strays away from the route that is prepared for her, the scenery around her has altered, albeit slight. The sky is no longer calm blue; but instead intense red that one can mistake it for blood. The shadows appear more malicious as they shift to every movement.

Kei automatically turns her head around to find a way back, her feet makes suspicious cracking noise that reminds Kei too much of bones breaking under her weight. At first, there seems to be no one save for her growing anxious form. She is proved at that instant wrong by the sudden sigh, which resounds across the heavy silence.

The startled girl snaps her head back, fearful brown eyes squinting in the dark.

A ghostly, hunching form sits on a steeps hill that seems to materialize out of nowhere, almost blending well in the dark. Their broad shoulder and the way they slump with forearms propping on their knees has a masculine feeling to it, and she steps back warily. Despite how brave she makes herself to be, if anything is to happen, there's still a limit to what a girl can do.

Kei is about to move when suddenly, a pair of maroon, dead eyes shift from the mysterious figure and greet hers in a half-lidded stare. The murky air around them intensify, and the sound of draft has morphed to loud, incomprehensible whispers.

Her heart pounds against her chest as the ground melts beneath her, leading her to a dark abyss as she falls for her death. Her cries are ignored by the boy with red eyes.

Kei snaps her eyes open. Tears unknowingly trickle down her cheeks; her body is bathed in cold sweat as she claps her mouth in a silent sob. The remnants of the dream are still vivid but she wills herself to get out of bed. In the blackness, the girl's trembling frame struggles to pull on a robe before rushing out of the apartment.

She isn't sure where she is going with this; all she knows is that she needs to make sure. She needs to see _him_ now.

Strength returns to her leg as her pace quickens. Kei follows her instinct and brings herself in front of the 24-7 busy street of Tokyo and almost throwing her life away. A taxi thankfully stops in front her and a bald head appears at the window to yell at her but halted midway by the horror-stricken look in the girl's eyes.

"Please!"

* * *

Kirihito Mori is dead.

The steady rhythm of the heart monitor falters the slightest bit before returning to its shadow of following the repetitive pumping of the vital organ. Each time it echoes across the room is a reassurance to the distressed parents, who haven't given up hope for their only son. The previous slip is nothing more than a convenient lapse; a slip-up that people would thoughtlessly dismiss. For a moment, there's no movement except for the slight rises and falls of the boy's chest.

Slowly and reluctantly, the boy peels his eyelids open. Vacant brown eyes that is bordering between coffee and maroon, peek behind those dark lashes and lighten at the red-pink light of dawn trickling from the hospital curtains. He let out a sound that quickly alerts the occupants of the room of his consciousness, and in bliss, his parents engulf him while murmuring thank-yous to their lords.

Akura-ou, now Kirihito Mori, in his daze, let the parents of the body he is now possessing embrace him as his arms stay limp by his sides. It is unlike him to welcome the warmth of others and bath himself in the smell of freshly washed clothes, but he does though reluctantly clutches the fabric of the woman's kimono.

Before he knows it, he delivers the promise that he never intended to keep as he apologizes to the woman, the woman who he'd be calling 'mother' from now on.

A sudden movement catches his eyes as he turns to glance at his left. A girl. More precisely, a girl with an unusual shade of hair, clad in clothing that can be labelled provocative back at his time, stands winded at the doorway. Her face is ashen with the very emotion he is most familiar with—fear.

A soft 'red' is what he heard from her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Tensed

What awaits us after death? The afterlife is certainly a mysterious concept, a dangerously beautiful mystery, tempting and seducing the accursed curiosity in every one of us. Will our consciousness continue living even after death? Or will it cease to exist and fade into an eternal oblivion?

Kei wants to believe in the continued existence of the dead. She'd rather take comfort in the knowledge that her departed loved ones have passed on safely to the other side or _heaven_ as they like to call it. Her deceased grandparents, the dead goldfish from her 5th birthday…

She desires the best for all of them.

But she just can't help but see the shortcomings of the belief that her parents had enforced on her since childhood. How can one be certain that afterlife exists? We can't all be sure until a certain undead raises up to tell the tale, which in Kei's book, is utterly out of the question.

Her eyes, however, lighten in realization as a pair of blood-red eyes flashes across her mind.

"...is Saturday okay for you?" Ami is asking.

The other girl's reply to Ami's inquiry doesn't sound too familiar to Kei, but still polite nonetheless. "Oh, yeah; sure. It will be great. I just hope that I get to buy some new bikini before going though." The discussion between the two ladies drones on without Kei as she pays her outmost attention to the electronic device in her hands, fingers never missing a beat at typing.

It has been a few months since college started, and things haven't been looking up for her. In additional to her part-time job, she is barely making it through with her schoolwork. In spite of her parents' absence, she doesn't get to invite Ami over to hang out, but now that they include Nanami Momozono in their small group, Kei supposes that she won't have to worry about the redhead bearing symptoms of PMS whenever they don't get to hang out.

"That's okay!" chirps Ami, raising her tone excitedly like she just got a brilliant idea. "You can use one of Kei's! I'm sure she won't mind."

Kei heard that, but she fails to comprehend where this discussion is leading. Her coffee-coloured eyes widen a fraction before blinking up at the two girls."One of my what?"

Since Nanami has yet to grow comfortable with the two best friends, she instinctively thinks that the strawberry blonde is irritated and regards her with a guilty gaze. Noticing this, Kei simply responds with a languid smile back to the * _Yamato Nadeshiko_.

When Ami introduced Kei to their new addition, Kei was unsure what to make Nanami Momozono of. Sure, she somehow knew the brunette from high school, but only as the shy pauper, who unfortunately fell victim to immature teasing usually conducted by Isobe.

"One of your bikinis, of course!" trills Ami shamelessly, ignorant to the round of turning heads that she unintentionally brought. Nanami makes a choking sound as she cupped her mouth in an attempt to hide the second-hand flush of embarrassment. Kei, however, is no stranger to the attention as she simply shrugs her indifference to the proposal.

"If I'm invited to join you guys, then yes, you may—as Ami so kindly announced to the world." she smartly retorts, a hint of teasing in her smile that causes Nanami to finally giggle with ease.

"Ueshima-san."

Kei is a second too late at locating exactly from where she heard that obnoxious, patronizing voice. And when she recognizes it as one of her instructors, she tries to blend in with the other students, ducking her rather attention-drawing-of-orange head under the desk.

"I can see you from here," the teacher informs in a bored tone from the doorway of their study hall. "It won't be long. I just need to ask you a favour."

Clicking her tongue, Kei looks around the room to see that everybody is engaged in idle chatter and messes about with each other. With a flat look, she grumpily goes to the front, disregarding the pity looks burning on her back. She morosely reasons out the need for him to call her when there're others who are more willing to help.

"I've heard that you're a regular part-timer of the Mori's," he says, a slight question in his gaze. "If that's true, then you must've acquainted yourself with Kirihito Mori, isn't that right?"

The irony of his assumption makes Kei want to laugh in hollow. "I do work at the Mori's, but to assume that Mori-san and I are close would be stretching it a bit." she concedes with a wry smile.

"Well, that's to be expected. He is a grade higher than yours after all," says the man, nodding in thought. "Anyway, I'm more than happy to know that he is now recovering from the dreadful accident. It's most likely would be a hassle for the boy if he is to return here at the moment…" He then looks at her, slightly hopeful. "Would you mind deliver him some lesson notes? He will need it, now that he's all up and about."

Kei shuffles her feet more out of discomfort than anything else; the gnawing feeling of guilt burns deep inside.

She finds herself not willing to the idea of having anything to do with the recovering boy. Guilty or not, the _current_ Kirihito Mori somehow makes her feel uneasy and she trusts her instinct more than anything else, for it never fails to keep her on her toes.

"I don't think I'm up for it. You see, we aren't exactly on _friendly_ terms."

The man gives her an inquisitive look. Kei can almost see the gears in his head turning before he comes to a conclusion. "Tell you what, if you do help me out with this errand, then I will arrange an appointment for the new presentation you so _passionately_ talked about before. It's a win-win situation, don't you think?"

Kei doesn't like the options, but she can't also afford to risk getting terrible grades, thus the additional assignment he's prior mentioned.

…

 _Well, shit._

* * *

"Anego, where are we going?" the child asks as he licks enthusiastically the ice cream she's deliberately bribed him with. His chubby round face looks up at her inquiringly.

Tutting, she holds him still to wipe the sticky smudge from his cheeks. "You'll have to see for yourself, Takeru-kun."

On her way to the Mori household, she sees no harm at picking up little Takeru Kaneda from the kindergarten. He is her neighbour's five-year-old son who seems to have a fetish for her hair. Charmed, she'd sometimes let him play with it whenever she babysits for his recently married parents.

Takeru marvels in awe as they leisurely approach a detached residence at the edge of the town, the melting ice-cream momentarily forgotten in his small hand. The traditional Japanese house stands proudly on the spacious piece of land, completed with a sublime zen garden.

They pass by an exquisite fountain on the way from the front gate. Unlike the innocent child beside her who is cooing at the swirls of colours underwater, Kei simply regards the magnificent view with a mixture of depreciating and slightly envious look. _Rich bastards._

"They must be so rich!" cries out the little boy, tugging Kei's hand forward, wanting to take a closer look. Kei isn't amused. "Really? I wouldn't know," she murmurs unhappily, mentally criticising her small apartment somewhere hidden in the busy streets of Tokyo.

After a few moments of ringing the bell, the front door slides open and Mrs Mori appears, looking surprised. "Kei-chan?"

Kei straightens up before her boss, face flushing a bit at the inconvenience. "G-good afternoon, Mrs Mori. I'm sorry for disturbing. The teacher asked me to give these lesson notes to Kirihito-san."

Mrs. Mori gratefully takes the envelope containing all the notes before looking down at Takeru, who is staring back with equal curiosity. The introduction is unnecessary Kei finds, but she quickly clarifies the situation. The matriarch's eyes glint with a soft smile before steering them both inside despite Kei's polite refusals.

While Mrs. Mori is humouring Takeru with historical facts behind the carefully carved interiors of the house, Kei lags a few steps behind. She is alert and has been looking around cautiously. This is the first time for her to enter the Mori residence. The house seems harmless, yet the feeling she has…

For some unknown reason, being in the house makes her blood coils in protest; a sense of dread filling her insides. Why is that?

Kei stops walking. She turns her head to the translucent *shoji to her left, glancing at a streak of light spilling from the opening gap. Unaware that she is gravitating towards it, Kei is almost startled to death when a pale-skinned hand suddenly shoots out and pushes the sliding panel open with a quivering thud.

A sharp stare addresses her as a head of black hair emerges from the room. There is a moment of delay where neither of us moves nor speak. Kei uncharacteristically holds her breath as soon she met his kohl-lined eyes, an undercurrent of arrogance challenges her slightly anxious ones.

With a frown, she looks him over. The bandages are long gone. His skin is still as pale as the piece of robe he wears over his lithe form. Compared to the unconscious boy that haunts her minds recently, Kirihito looks very much alive.

Alive and somehow, _different_.

"Mori-san," Kei attempts to laugh, unknowing that she is assuming a defensive stance out of anxiety. "How many times do I have to say that it's rude to stare?"

The boy blinks almost lazily before smiling lightly as if sensing the false confidence in her voice. "I wasn't the one who was about to barge into an opposite gender's room." he retaliates in a soft murmur.

Kei is surprised at first, but eventually tucks whatever expression she is having away. Something feels wrong, but she'd rather be damned than to show it. "How are you, Mori-san?" she inquires out of courtesy. "Everyone is quite worried."

He begins yawning and rubs his nape absentmindedly. "Have they?"

She blinks, brows pulling together. She doesn't remember him being this _aloof_. "Well, it's only to expected. You _are_ in an accident. Friends and family bound to be worried, aren't they?"

Kirihito watches her quietly, emotion stifled within his eyes, providing her with no penny to his thoughts. A moment later, he smirks albeit slightly. "And I expect that you _are_?"

Again, she frowns. The boy she _knew_ was never this sharp-tongued. "Course, I am. I wouldn't be here, if I'm not, now, do I?"

He only offers her a smile which doesn't reach his eyes. Under his scrutinizing gaze, Kei eventually drops any kind of pretence and snorts. "Well, you're certainly not making it easy."

The black-haired boy draws closer, dark hair shifting against his cheeks. He isn't that tall, and Kei is still smaller than him. But that isn't going to stop her from getting on her toes and craning her neck in an attempt to stare him down, fighting not to take a step back. She tries in vain to ignore the raging hormonal reaction she has to this sudden indiscretion.

Uninterested as she is, Kirihito Mori is still a very handsome young man.

Red eyes bear down on her, assessing her fair complexion.

"You look tense," he observes, light amusement dancing in those dark depths. "Is something wrong?"

Her blank face looks ready to snap angrily at his less-than-innocent tone. "Well then..." with a quiet chuckle, his hand reaches out to touch her cheekbone, oddly gentle as he caresses her skin. He softly laughs as her expressionless features betray a wave of shock.

She most definitely didn't expect _this_.

"A compensation," he claims vaguely, and with that, turns away with a fluid ruffle of his robe, leaving a ghostlike touch on her cheek.

As Kei stands there rigidly in place, the familiar eerie feeling causes goosebumps appearing on her arms.

There was no warmth in his touch.

* * *

*Yamato Nadeshiko: a personification of an ideal Japanese woman.

*Shoji: a translucent door in a traditional Japanese architecture.


	3. Chapter 3

**I thank you all for showing support to this story! I actually didn't expect to see so many Akura-ou fans out there and therefore didn't plan to update this story regularly! But that still doesn't mean I will now…For every chapter, I plan to make it between 2000-3000 words. So can't promise anything at the moment.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Game

With every movement, her manicured toenails sink into the warm, tiny pebbles. The waves roll in a steady rhythm, sea-foam dragging shells and stones up and down, inches away from her hesitant feet. The sun is blazing as rays of light float peacefully on the water surface, bobbing along with the current, blinding her eyes.

Kei regrets not bringing her sunglasses.

Like every other summer day, the coastline is crowded to the brim with swim-goers, all clad in multicoloured swimsuits and bikinis, sunbathing and enjoying the calm heat the sun provides. Unlike her frivolous friends, Kei prefers to stay back under the shade of her parasol, burying her feet into the grainy sand, watching over Ami as she enjoys herself in the water.

She can practically hear their high-pitched giggles from where she sits.

"Why aren't you joining them?"

Her brown eyes slide up to the owner of the smooth voice beside her. Now that he is talking to her, she is given a full view of his side profile. Sharp, violet hues peek from underneath his platinum bangs and her eyes trail along his sharp jawline, slightly envious. Kei begrudgingly praises Nanami for choosing well.

Tomoe is beautiful.

To his question, Kei shrugs casually, returning her gaze to the girls that are currently victimizing Tomoe's friend, who is not too bad to look at either. The other boy too apparently decided to tag along with their beach trip unannounced, which caused her earlier to lash out at the rather feminine-looking boy. Kei likes being in the presence of hot guys, but it irks her how blasé he and Tomoe are for interrupting their girls day out.

"Saltwater makes me feel dirty, I guess." huffs Kei, squinting because of the unforgiving sunlight. "What about you? Don't you have anything besides *yukata to wear at a beach?"

Kei feels him looking at her questioningly.

"I mean, look at yourself," she overstates her point by gesturing dramatically at his entire choice of wardrobe, which consists of the simple, traditional clothing and some kind of head covering. "By the way, what is that on your head? "

With a look that doesn't really give a damn, Tomoe slowly and thoughtfully raises a hand to his head. His lips curl at the edges as if something has dawned on him‚ nonetheless, he speaks no more. Kei eyes him weirdly.

"Tomoe! Kei-chan!"

Nanami and Ami are now waving enthusiastically from the water. Kei waves back half-heartedly, eyebrows arching at the look of concern on Nanami; her dark gaze shifts worriedly between them. Recognizing that look anywhere, Kei presses her lips to suppress a giggle.

"Something amuses you?" Tomoe eyes her curiously.

"Nothing, nothing." Kei waves him off, subconsciously rolling her eyes. _Boys and their ignorance at the obvious. Tsk._

"Are you close to Nanami?"

It takes awhile for the late-teen to answer as she contemplates her response, not wanting to get on the protective boyfriend's bad side. Behind the male's beauty, he is intimidating. The way he carries himself gives off an air of nonchalance, yet Kei could tell that he is down-right dangerous if angered.

Strangely, his whole demeanour reminds her of a certain sick, raven-haired boy.

"Not as close as Ami. Nanami-chan isn't actually the type of person that would approach people unless she deems it necessary." She felt a sense of déjà vu washes over at the irony. "Huh—one thing we have in common."

Tomoe chuckles, amethyst eyes reminiscing. "Well, Nanami would be very delighted, if you and Ami-san watch her perform at the Mikage Shrine Festival."

Kei let out an impressed whistle. Nanami truly has been busy these days.

"Yeah, sure. I don't see why not." Kei responds, catching Nanami's apprehensive gaze once again. Kei then gives the anxious girlfriend a thumbs up; to what, she isn't sure.

Not wanting to cause an unneeded strain between the couple, Kei decides to stray away a bit with an excuse of wanting some ice cream. At this, Tomoe reveals a teasing smile that almost plucks the string of her heart.

The bastard is silently mocking her childishness, yet Kei can't help ogling over the guy. _God! Get yourself out of the gutter. He is your friend's boyfriend!_ The strawberry blonde shakes her head as she makes for the vendor section on the beach, tying a piece of sarong around her waist.

With both shins dusted with sand like flour on a dough, Kei casually enters the most decent-looking store, ignoring the typical, leering gazes from sexual-deprived males. Despite the cliché decoration and colourful motif, the ice cream parlour is air-conditioned and well-managed.

The large range of ice cream flavours shown behind the display cases amazes her, and she is having a hard time choosing if it isn't for one of the worker there who recommends to her one of their favourites.

"It's good," Kei comments, appreciating the combination of sour and sweet taste playing on her tongue. "What is it?"

"Peach," chimes the friendly staff.

Kei hesitates. She is never one for fruit-flavoured sweets.

"Two scoops, please." Kei requests nonetheless, handing him a couple of notes. After receiving her order, she walks over to the shore, a bit far from the crowd. By the time she finds the perfect spot, her ice cream is already melting.

"Ah, shit!" Kei jumps as her dessert drips, not wanting a stain on her sarong. She plans to suck the stickiness clean. What she doesn't expect, however, is the sudden shove to her shoulder, ultimately leading to the plop of sadness and cream on the ground.

"Oi!" In one clean sweep of her hands, she moves to grab the person responsible. They, however, aren't making it easy, so she resorts to twisting their arm behind their back, pinning them to the ground. Ignoring their protests, Kei presses her knee to their back.

After hours of binging over Youtube and martial-art movies, it definitely pays.

"Courtesy 101: after shoving someone, what do you ought to say to them?"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Looking down, Kei isn't sure what to make of the situation as she stares down a boy wearing a fox mask, wriggling underneath her knee. At least she assumes he is a 'he', judging from his masculine, whiny voice.

"OW! My arm! You're going to break it!"

Shaken out of her daze, Kei quickly lets go, moving a foot away from him.

"Aw, boss didn't warn me about any of this," moans the youngster. "Jeez, if I know it's going to be like this, I would've let Kikuichi-kun come."

Kei shakes off her confusion and gives the sprawling boy a light kick to his shin. Repetitively. "Oi. You just owe me an ice cream, kid. Two scoops. Peach-flavoured."

"Considering that you almost broke my arm, I don't think I have the requirement to listen to you." He retorts angrily.

No matter how notorious her temper is, Kei certainly isn't that of a thickheaded to pick a useless fight, especially if it's about anything as trivial as a spoilt ice-cream. But godbedamned she won't let this idiot get away for letting her money go to waste.

"Listen here—"

The sound of phone ringing breaks the tense moment.

At this distraction, Kei's shoulders visibly relax as she watches the boy produces a smartphone out of thin air, answering it.

"Ah, boss!" he exclaims into the phone, turning his torso in a way to earn some privacy. "Uh-huh. Right! I'll be on my way! Uh...Make that in a few minutes, the girl just did a number on me."

Kei looks quickly at the boy. She is pretty sure she has never seen him before. Yet why does he talk like he knows her? Her eyes analyse him from head-to-toe, lingering on a few blond strands sticking up randomly on his head. Surely, she would recognize the face under the mask.

"Do I know you?" she questions him when he hangs up the call. For a moment, his shoulders stiffen.

"Not I'm aware of," says the boy rather offhandedly, standing and dusting himself off. "As pleasurable as it is to talk with you, I believe my presence is needed elsewhere. So, I bid you adieu. For now."

Just before Kei could protest and demand the meaning behind his vague words, an ocean breeze blows past, whipping at her face. She throws up a hand to shield her eyes from the flying mist of brine, and when she opens them again, the boy is already gone.

* * *

It's Friday evening. At this time of day, everyone is prone to reach the conclusion of their day earlier than usual. Students in majority, instead of revising their lessons, are heading for karaoke bars with their group of peers.

But not Kei Ueshima, as she finds herself trudging across the almost deserted halls of her campus, heading for the reception, where no doubt a package of lesson notes is waiting for her pick-up.

It is another favour for that _sonofabitch_ instructor of hers. Her last lecture has been dismissed early, so Kei doesn't see the harm of staying back at the campus a bit, catching up on her assignments and work. It backfires when she receives an email from that sorry excuse of an instructor, ordering requesting her to deliver the lesson notes to the Moris. Again.

She could ignore the email, but that would put her voluntary presentation—the one she so tirelessly worked her ass on (all for the sake to balance out her unsatisfactory grades), on risk.

Seconds later, Kei is in the lobby. It's almost empty saves for a few exhausted looking upperclassmen and surprisingly Kurama. With his back against the wall, the boy pretends not to see her as he appears to be reading something on his phone.

Rolling her eyes, she looks around the abandoned desk for her package. To say that they're strangers would be an exaggeration, but they know each other's name and even share a few classes together. Besides the things she read about him from Ami's magazines, her knowledge about the teen-idol is pretty much limited.

Kei mutters an inaudible 'tsk' when a scribbled name on a thick, brown parcel catches her eyes briefly.

 _Kirihito Mori._

She unceremoniously gives a satisfying smack on the smooth cover. The owner of said name is partially blamed for her extra work, after all. Her less-than-mundane action, however, gains the attention of her classmate. Kurama glances up at her briefly, a slight curl on his black-coloured lips before he looks back down at his phone again.

Kei frowns a little, uncomfortable and somehow embarrassed that he is able to ridicule her without saying a word. Huffing, she put the notes away and begins to leave the vicinity, attempting a graceful departure as best as she could without the dramatic flair of her coat or the mental beams of sunlight shining upon her.

She pretends not to hear the snort coming suspiciously from behind.

Heading for her last stop for the day, Kei exits the college ground and passes by a few office buildings, including the apartment block where most of her classmates reside. To her luck, Mori's restaurant is within walking distance from her campus, which is convenient for her to leave said notes for her boss to pick at the end of the day.

No matter how much she comes to respect the single matriarch, she is no _saint_.

A soft soundtrack can be heard faintly from her iPod as she crosses the road, her hurrying shadow not too far on the tawny-bathed zebra-crossing. She smiles at how surreal her surroundings is, no doubt creating a romantic scenery that she'd like to save on her photo gallery.

 _God, I really need a life._

By the time she arrives at the restaurant, an old lady is waiting by the counter, seemingly in a hurry to pay as her shaky hand repetitively rings the bell. Kei frowns at the absence of any workers but quickly apologizes and takes it from there, not without directing a friendly smile to the anxious customer.

"Please come again," Kei says wearily, containing a yawn.

Now that she is left alone, Kei doesn't know what to do. Last time she checks, it's Kayako's turn to do the shift, yet there's no sign of the said girl.

Kei opens her book bag again and pushes the contents aside, looking for Mori's lesson notes‚ but before she can pull them out, she straightens up suddenly, looking around the seemingly deserted restaurant.

There it is again.

The familiar prickling on the back of her neck returns, giving her the feeling that she is being watched. She has been getting a lot of that recently but always disregarding it as only nerves, but then again‚ the prospect of her being stalked appears to be plausible at the moment.

Letting out a shaky breath, she goes to lock the front door.

Kei is halfway along the passage to the kitchen, which is by now dark, when she hears low voices from the locker room. A second later, she recognizes one of them as Kayako's. She hesitates for a moment before going in any way.

Not a second later, she feels a bucket of ice cascading into her stomach. _Well, what's the odds‚ now he can just take these effin notes._

"What's up?" says Kei composedly.

"Ueshima-san!" Befuddlement is evident on Kayako's face, while Kirihito merely regards their newest addition with bored disinterest.

"Hey! I thought there's no one to watch over the shop so I took the liberty to lock the front door," says Kei awkwardly, cringing of how it sounds like an excuse.

"Oh! Oh, yeah. Yeah…uh"—Kayako looks for help from the black-haired boy, who doesn't acknowledge the tense situation as he seems more interested in the small smudge on his black-clad shoulder—"Thanks, Ueshima-san. I was just going to do that after Kiri—Mori-san is done with his explanation, isn't that right, Mori-san?"

Kei arches her eyebrows at the close slip-up, realizing that Kayako seems to be at the first-name-base with her boss's son.

"Hmm..." Kirihito eventually relents, stretching languidly, lean body arching up. Kei promptly looks away from the appreciated image he has made, when she catches Kayako not-so-subtly giving the boy a look of wistful longing.

Kei coughs and pulls out the bundle of notes, the sharp edges scraping slightly against her dry skin. "So, Mori-san, I was meaning to give you these."

A familiar glimmer appears in his eyes, and he smiled ever-so-slightly, humming out, "Oh, didn't little _kitten_ do that last time? How unexpectedly sweet of her."

Kei inwardly fumes, not missing the dawning suspicions on Kayako's delicate features. "Just _goddamn_ take it."

If he is angered by her rudeness, he doesn't show it as he simply regards her inquisitively. Though looking bored, there is an unmistakable flash of nostalgia in those dark, rusty hues, putting Kei off.

No voice is needed to tell her that her business with Kirihito is done as he eventually turns to Kayako, giving her a stern look. "Don't make a move till I tell you so."

Kei narrows her eyes. _Move? What move?_

Putting an end to the issue, he walks past the blonde, but not without taking the notes from her now weak grip.

"Good day, kitten." He smiles at her—that crafty smile that appears to challenge her to some kind of _game_. A game only she is aware of.

Kei matches her gaze with his sharp ones. _There's something you're hiding, and I'm going to find out what it is._


End file.
